My New Power
by NeneJPhilly
Summary: Raven didn't know what happened but she was grateful to not be a pancake. (oneshot) (Love You universe) (COMPLETE)


"I'm telling you, man. She smells different!" Changeling ignored Cyborg's groan.

"Why can't you say what the difference is?" Kid Flash demanded. "You've been saying this for weeks but haven't said exactly what's so different about how Raven smells."

It was true. It'd been weeks since Changeling first noticed a slight difference in Raven's scent but he hadn't said what that difference was. He'd been too busy telling anyone who'd listen just that she smelled different.

Changeling took a breath. "Okay. Everybody has a unique scent, right?" He waited for the nods from his male teammates. "Hers doesn't smell the same. Rather it smells _enhanced_."

"What does she smell like in the first place?" Nightwing spoke up for the first time in many minutes, having opted to ignore the shapeshifter at the beginning of his rant.

"She smells like an equal mix of tea leaves, old ink, dried lavender & honey soap & a light layer of clean mountain dryer sheets like all the girls do." Changeling smiled indulgently to himself.

"That was odd." Kid Flash eyed him warily.

"What does she smell like now?" Nightwing ignored the redhead.

"Some hint of spice like pumpkin or cinnamon." Changeling lifted a shoulder as he continued playing the game currently onscreen.

"Her whole smell changed?" Cyborg asked.

"No. It's been added. She smells like her old scent but with this new spice. It's driving me crazy."

"Is it really bothering you or is it because you don't know _why_ her scent is different?" Nightwing wisely deduced.

Changeling frowned at being so easily found out. He thought he'd been a little more subtle (& evolved) than that. "It really bothers me!"

Kid Flash, Nightwing & Cyborg just looked at him. It took a full thirteen seconds before he huffed & rolled his eyes.

Kid Flash smirked. "What do the rest of us smell like?"

"All of you guys?" Changeling scrounged up his face.

"Like Jinx. What does she smell like?"

"Fire, curry & honeysuckle." He replied immediately.

Kid Flash considered that. "Not bad. Even I can smell the flower scent." Though he didn't know a rose from a weed.

"Do Bee next. What's she smell like?" Cyborg was into it.

"Pollen, peaches & sunshine." Changeling nodded as he tried to remember exactly what his outspoken friend smelled like.

"What about Star?" Nightwing decided he might as well ask.

"Strawberries, mint & cotton."

"That's a strange combination." Nightwing could smell the fruit first off & even the underlying mint on a good day but never thought cotton could be in there.

"It's a good smell." Changeling admitted.

"What do _we_ smell like?" Kid Flash asked. "I try to smell good all the time."

"You smell like Old Spice, grass & oddly enough, the wind."

"I can live with that." Kid Flash said at once, only hearing that he didn't stink.

"I already know I smell like motor oil." Cyborg sighed.

"You do." Changeling inclined his head. "But you also smell like BBQ sauce & some oil I know nothing about."

"Oil? Not motor oil?"

"No. It's... nutty."

Cyborg thought it over. "That doesn't seem bad. I guess I can be okay with that."

"Don't make any jokes." Nightwing warned Changeling.

Changeling grinned. "Hair gel, sweat & hay."

"Hay?" Nightwing was taken aback. _The only hay I've ever been around was when I was in the circus when I was little_.

Changeling shrugged. "Hay."

"What about Terra?" Kid Flash asked. "What's she & the kids smell like?"

"Terra smells like the Earth after a good summer rain." The shapeshifter paused the game so he could concentrate on the kids' scents. "Chris smells like that oil that Cy smells like & peppermint patties."

"He loves those nasty things." Nightwing inclined his head in understanding.

"Cal smells like that baby lotion Bumble Bee puts on him & oddly enough, blackberries."

"That is odd!" Cyborg exclaimed. "He can't even have blackberries now!"

"What about Chuck?" Kid Flash wanted to know.

"Stop calling my daughter that!" Changeling laughed.

"Why? It's a good name!"

"It's butch!"

"She is a girlie girl." Kid Flash gave in.

"My baby smells like how her mother tastes."

"Whoa! Nobody needed to hear that!" Cyborg dropped the controller he had & waved his hands in affront.

"She tastes like raspberries." He nearly giggled at his friend's face.

"Stop!" Cyborg cried.

"Her mouth, nasty!"

"Oh." Cyborg stopped being a huge baby. "That's different."

"She also smells like baby powder. Charlie, that is."

"That's a good smell." Nightwing smirked.

"Can we get back to the game?" Changeling rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Get back to gettin your ass handed to you!" Cyborg teased.

"Shhh!" Changeling waved his arms in fear. "If Rae hears you, I'm a dead duck!"

"For what? The kids aren't in here." The cybernetic teen rolled his real eye.

"Like that matters." Nightwing scoffed. "Star doesn't know what half those curses are but she does know that she doesn't want Chris repeating them."

"Bee is sure Cal's going to start talking soon so she wants to start feeding him lines." Cyborg sighed.

"He is almost a year old." Kid Flash noted.

"Saying Mama & Dada is stupid."

The other three fell out laughing at his serious face.

"So you know Bumble Bee would be livid if she heard you cursing. Why take the risk?" Nightwing asked.

"Because she's not the boss of me!"

"You sound like Kid!" Changeling barked out. Nightwing continued laughing as Kid Flash scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kid Flash growled.

"It means Jinx has you on a short leash!" Changeling had no problem telling him.

Kid Flash's scowl darkened. "She does not!"

"You're on that leash as much as Changeling is wrapped around Raven's baby finger." Nightwing laughed.

It was Changeling's turn to stop laughing as Cyborg roared. "Hey! I am _not_ wrapped around her baby finger!"

"You're as whipped at Nightwing!" Cyborg almost slid off the sofa.

Nightwing sputtered. "I am not whipped. I am the leader of this team-"

"& if Starfire told you to jump, you'd backflip before she even finished speaking." Kid Flash laughed.

"At least Starfire doesn't slap me upside the head & call me simple!"

"Jinx barely hits me, one!" Kid Flash was upset. "& two, that's a lovely pet name!"

"Like when Rave calls Changeling "her idiot"?" Cyborg supplied.

"As much as when Bumble Bee tells you you're a bucket of rust." Changeling got him back.

Kid Flash laughed. "Yeah. Like that."

"Weren't we playing a game?" Cyborg grumbled.

"Let's just get back to _Barrel of Monkeys III_." Nightwing insisted.

"Agreed." The others nodded once.  
l  
Just as the quartet restarted the game, the alarm went off.

"Really?!" Changeling threw his hands up in the air.

Nightwing pressed the button to change the large screen in front of them to show the crime details. "Let's see what we have here."

Cyborg leaned forward. "It looks like Cinderblock's tearin up the metro district."

"He is." Nightwing said grimly.

"What's up?" Bumble Bee burst into the room with the other female Titans, all in uniform.

"Cinderblock's in Metro. Get there asap. We'll meet you there as soon as we can." Nightwing commanded.

"Whose turn is it to stay with the bambinos?" Kid Flash was already on his feet.

"You & Bumble Bee." Nightwing was near the door.

"Aww man!" Bumble Bee pouted.

"See ya later." Cyborg grinned.

"Have fun without me!" She waved as the room emptied out.

Kid Flash flopped back onto the sofa. "So whatcha wanna do now?"

Bumble Bee looked at him & rolled her eyes. "I'm going to see my son."

"Has he called you Mama yet?" Kid Flash was on his knees & grinning in an instant.

Bumble Bee pushed him by his forehead until he fell over.

MNP+MNP+MNP

"Titans, fall back!" Nightwing yelled as Starfire was swatted from the sky. He caught her just in time & she thanked him with a grateful smile.

"Man, is it just me or is he extra ornery today?" Changeling rotated his shoulder from where he'd been thrown into the side of a building.

"We need to get him on his back then give him the Sonic Boom but we'll need a distraction." Nightwing drew up the plan.

"Raven & I can hit him from the front." Terra suggested.

Nightwing nodded. "Changeling & Jinx can hit him from behind. Once he's down, clear the way for Cy & me. Got it? Titans, go!"

The group immediately set out to put the plan into action but something went wrong as Terra & Raven began pelting Cinderblock with rocks & heavy objects to get him to fall. The plan was working & as Jinx & Changeling attacked his lower legs, Cinderblock was falling backwards but as he fell, he floundered horribly; knocking Raven out of the sky.

"Ahhh!" Raven panicked & couldn't summon the power to stop herself from falling.

"Raven!" Changeling resumed his humanoid form & ran for her but he was too far away. He had to watch in slow motion as she plummeted to the earth.

Raven closed her eyes as the ground drew near but instead of exploding pain & a mouthful of dirt, she bounced off the ground like a basketball & found purchase on her feet. It was like she had had a force field around her.

"Rae?" Changeling was finally able to reach her & did so quickly. He held onto her shoulders & checked her over thoroughly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." She brushed him off though she was astounded. Both flinched when they heard a loud boom. They looked to see the Sonic Boom had worked perfectly & Cinderblock was incapacitated.

"Cinderblock! You are under arrest!" The chief of police spoke into a megaphone as officers went to handcuff the newly defeated villain.

The Titans grouped together as Nightwing went to talk to the chief about the latest takedown.

"Are you the alright, friend?" Starfire put a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Raven repeated.

"You bounced. Like a ball." Jinx reminded her.

"I know." Raven didn't know what happened but she was grateful to not be a pancake.

"So what happened? We aren't we scraping you off the sidewalk like Raven side up?" Cyborg wanted to know.

"I don't know." Raven admitted. "I may have to meditate on it."

"I'd like to test it." Nightwing said as he walked over. "It came in handy & if it holds up, it'll be a viable asset."

Raven sighed. "Fine."

MNP+MNP+MNP

"& she just bounced."

"No way!" Kid Flash & Bumble Bee were all ears when the Titans returned home.

"Yes, the way." Starfire said solemnly.

"Now he wants to test her." Cyborg continued. "Said she'd be an asset if it wasn't a fluke."

"I wonder how she's doing." Bumble Bee contemplated.

"So do I."

MNP+MNP+MNP

Nightwing ran a hand through his hair as he let out a breath. "So it's not a fluke."

Raven merely raised an eyebrow. It'd taken no effort on her part. All she'd done was stand still while Nightwing aimed low level weapons at her. Each strike hit the invisible bubble & she was safe from pseudo harm every time.

"Do you know if you're developing more powers?"

"My other powers have been strengthening so maybe I am developing another power."

"It'll come in handy to have a failsafe for at least one of my teammates." Nightwing told her. "I get to worry less."

"I doubt you'll worry less."

A corner of his mouth kicked up. "Changeling should be done with the report. Go on up."

As she swept out of the room, he went about cleaning up & adding to the list of supplies for Cyborg to restock for the training arena.

MNP+MNP+MNP

It'd been three days since the Cinderblock fight & every call since had resulted in the Titans seeing Raven's new power up close & personal.

"I wish I had that power." Jinx said.

"Me too." Bumble Bee put in. "I'd worry a lot less about my face hitting pay dirt."

"It's no big deal." Raven blew on her cup of tea.

"That's because you got it." Terra slid in.

"It is the most wondrous of the circumstances, is it not?" Starfire set down her cup of tea.

"I don't hate it." Raven admitted.

"What other powers do you think you're going to get?" Jinx asked.

"I don't know." Raven took a sip. "But I'm not sure I want any more."

"If they're all as cool as invulnerability, why not?!" Terra didn't get it.

"More powers for me to control."

"Good point." Bumble Bee made a considering face. "Who wants more responsibility?"

"Exactly."

"Tea, Mommy?" Charlotte asked.

Raven gave her a minuscule smile. "Yes, please."

The girls finally remembered they were at their daily tea party with the two year old. Like Raven had taught her, Charlotte poured a refill for her mother.

Jinx eyed the little girl. "I wonder if Charlie can copy that power."

"Let us hope she will never have to." Starfire commented.

The other girls agreed.

MNP+MNP+MNP

It was dark. As it usually was at ten at night but especially when it was still technically winter. He had his eyes closed & was listening to her turn pages as she read when her soft voice spoke up. "Gar?"

He opened the eye closest to her & eyed her. "Yes?"

She took a moment to look over her dark room with the curtains drawn to let in moonlight then looked over Changeling himself as he reclined against her pillows with his arms beneath his head & his legs crossed; the very picture of relaxed. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?" He closed his eye again.

"What do you think of my new power? Everyone else has had an opinion but you haven't said a word."

Both eyes opened. "I don't really care if you have a new power as long as you can control it & you like it. Do you like it?"

"It saved my life." That was neither confirmation nor a denial.

"Do you like it?"

Raven took a minute to think it through. She didn't have to maintain control to use it & it didn't draw on any of her energy. She didn't have to think about it & it did save her life. "Yes. Yes, I do."

He closed his eyes. "If you like it, I love it."

Raven set her book aside & snuggled close to Changeling. She knew he'd know but smiled anyway. "I've got a new power."


End file.
